If this story makes no sense to you, it is because you really do have to be a bit of a geek to get the joke. A Klein bottle is similar to a Mobius strip; but it is a "container" with no distinct inside or outside. (A more accurate description would require lots of mathematical technobabble; specifically, it is a closed non-orientable surface with Euler characteristic = 0.) Since there is no distinct inside or outside to them, they can not hold any liquids. If you wish to see some examples, go to http://www.kleinbottle.com/

edit: All right -- technically speaking, Klein bottles really exist only in four spacial dimensions; all Dr. Klein could have would be a 3D representation of one...Still, I just couldn't resist the pun.

Hmmm...If anyone ever does write that Big Bang Theory/LnC crossover discussed in another thread, this pun could fit right in there...

cheers,
Lynn S. M.

Groan...

But a great little super-short! Extra points for mentioning Klein bottles and Moebius strips. Definitely geek humor, so I'm right there with it.

It's Geek to me. :p

Groan again!

A mathematician called Klein,
Thought the Mobius strip was divine
Said he "If you glue the edges of two,
You'll get a weird bottle like mine."

Ah yes, well, it can't contain any liquid. What a pity!



Geek humour, indeed!

Ann

P.S. Oh, and by the way... let me suggest a new lab coat for Dr. Klein!

Cute limerick, Marcus. And thanks for the pics, Ann. What a perfect lab coat for him! :-)

cheers,
Lynn

LOl. It was different.

Not mine - it's anonymous, I first saw it in the sixties.